The Aged Care Act 2024 is in force. Your obligations are already live.
Australia's aged care system has undergone its most significant transformation in decades. Here's what every Facility Manager and provider needs to know.
A once in a generation reform, and it's already binding.
The Aged Care Act 2024 replaces the Aged Care Act 1997 and introduces a rights based framework that puts older Australians at the centre of the system. It followed the findings of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety in 2021.
For providers, the new Act means a new regulatory framework with clear, legally enforceable obligations and significantly stronger enforcement powers for the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission.
Executives and board members now face direct personal accountability. Compliance is no longer optional. It is embedded in law, with serious civil penalties for breaches.
Executive accountability
Directors and executives are held personally liable for failures in their responsibilities, with civil penalties applying to individuals rather than only to organisations.
If you sit on a board or in an executive role, this is now your personal exposure.
Strengthened Quality Standards
New Aged Care Quality Standards set higher expectations for safety, dignity and person centred care, and providers must demonstrate they are meeting them continuously.
Compliance at audit time is no longer enough. You need evidence across the whole year.
Statement of Rights
A legally enforceable Statement of Rights for older people accessing government funded aged care services, covering independence, privacy, safe care and the right to raise concerns.
Stronger enforcement powers
The Commission can now enter facilities without notice in emergency situations, and can issue banning orders that exclude non compliant workers from the sector.
An unannounced visit means your evidence has to be ready on the day, not prepared for.
Provider registration reform
A new provider registration and regulation framework replaces the old approval system, with registration categories tied to the services a provider delivers.
Support at Home program
The new Support at Home program launched alongside the Act, replacing the previous home care package model and Short Term Restorative Care.
What Facility Managers
are actually asking.
Practical answers to the questions we hear most from aged care operators across Australia.
When did the new Aged Care Act come into effect?
The Aged Care Act 2024 passed Parliament on 25 November 2024 and came into force on 1 November 2025. All providers operating government funded aged care services are now subject to its obligations.
What is the Statement of Rights?
The Statement of Rights is a new legally enforceable document that outlines the rights of older people accessing funded aged care. It covers independence, autonomy, privacy, safe and quality care, and the right to raise concerns without fear of reprisal. Providers must now deliver services in line with these rights.
Are executives personally liable under the new Act?
Yes. The new Act introduces a responsible persons duty, which means directors and executives face direct personal accountability for failures in their responsibilities. While criminal sanctions have been removed, serious civil penalties now apply to individuals, not just organisations.
What are the new Quality Standards?
The Aged Care Act 2024 introduces strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards with higher expectations across safety, dignity, clinical care and person centred services. Providers must demonstrate they are meeting these standards continuously, not just at audit time.
Can the Commission enter my facility without notice?
Yes. The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission now has expanded powers to enter aged care facilities without notice in certain emergency situations. It can also issue banning orders to exclude non compliant workers from the sector.
How does the Act affect incident reporting (SIRS)?
The Serious Incident Response Scheme has been updated under the new Act, and providers must follow new reporting obligations for reportable incidents. The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission has published a quick guide to the changes that took effect from 1 November 2025.
Do I need to update my care agreements?
Yes. Providers must vary existing home care and residential care agreements, or enter into new ones, to ensure compliance with the Aged Care Rules 2025. Existing home care agreements automatically became service agreements under the new Support at Home program.
What is the Code of Conduct under the new Act?
The Aged Care Act 2024 includes a strengthened Code of Conduct for aged care workers and providers. It sets clear expectations about how workers must behave when delivering care, and gives the Commission stronger powers to respond when the Code is breached.
How does this affect my technology systems?
The Act's emphasis on accountability, real time safety and audit readiness means your facility's technology systems play a bigger role than ever. Systems that cannot demonstrate continuous monitoring, incident logging and compliance reporting create regulatory risk for your organisation.
RTM Cloud is built around exactly these requirements.
How do I demonstrate continuous compliance?
The Commission expects providers to monitor and evidence compliance continuously, not just at audit time. That requires real time visibility over critical systems, automated incident alerts, and the ability to produce historical reporting on demand.
RTM Cloud automates this from end to end.
What happens if my nurse call system fails and I did not know?
Under the new Act, a silent system failure that affects resident safety is a serious compliance breach, and one that executive leaders can be personally held accountable for. Proactive monitoring that detects and alerts on system failures before they affect residents is now an essential safeguard.
RTM Cloud monitors your nurse call system 24/7.
Where can I find official information about the new Act?
The Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing and the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission have published extensive resources. Visit agedcarequality.gov.au or health.gov.au for official guidance, fact sheets and provider obligations.
Built for the obligations the Act now places on you.
RTM Cloud was already designed around continuous monitoring, accountability and audit readiness, which are the exact things the new Act demands. Here is how that maps to what you now have to evidence.
24/7 continuous monitoring
RTM Cloud monitors your nurse call, CCTV, access control and critical systems around the clock, alerting your Team the moment anything shows stress, before it becomes a safety incident or a compliance breach.
Audit ready reporting
Generate complete, timestamped compliance reports instantly. No manual data collection, and no scrambling before an audit visit. Every event logged, every incident documented, everything ready on demand.
Incident response and SIRS support
Instant alerts the moment a critical system shows a fault, giving your Team time to respond before an incident escalates. Full historical logs support your reporting obligations under the new Act.
Multi site visibility
One live dashboard across every site, every system, every moment, giving executives and directors the real time visibility they need to meet their personal accountability obligations.
24/7 Australian support
When something goes wrong at 2am, our Australian response centre is ready. 98% of issues are resolved remotely, which means fast, reliable support around the clock.
Proactive asset management
Predictive monitoring identifies equipment under stress before it fails, reducing unplanned incidents and demonstrating the proactive safeguarding approach the new Quality Standards expect.
Not sure where your gaps are?
We will walk through your current systems and show you what you would be able to evidence, and what you would not.
Please note. The information on this page is provided for general guidance only and does not constitute legal advice. Providers should refer to the Aged Care Act 2024 and the Aged Care Rules 2025 for their specific legal obligations, or seek independent legal advice. For official resources visit agedcarequality.gov.au or health.gov.au.